Criticism from musicians has prompted organisers of Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) award organisers to consider changing the name of the urban music category.

The winners of this year's ARIA awards will be announced at an event in Sydney tonight.

The five artists nominated for the 2013 Urban Album of the Year - Bliss N Eso, Horrorshow, Illy, Seth Sentry and Urthboy - are all hip hop artists, although the urban genre also encompasses R'n'B, soul, dancehall, funk and reggae.

Nick Bryant-Smith - also known as MC Solo - from nominated group Horrorshow says the urban category does not reflect changes that have occurred in the Australian music industry.

"A number of years ago the gripe among hip hop people has been that we were in the same category as a whole number of R'n'B singers and dance acts and things like that and it was all music that was being lumped together under the banner urban," he said.

"Now we have a category that's a lot more reflective of what's actually happening in the Australian music scene and the hip hop scene but we're left with this old title that doesn't quite match up to the classification that would normally apply to the artists in the category."

ARIA chief executive Dan Rosen says it is not the first time he has heard that criticism.

"It's definitely something that we want to take on board," he said.

"After Sunday night's ARIAS, we'll sit down with the hip hop community and ARIA members in that genre to discuss what we do moving forward."

Urban award an evolving category

The first ARIA awards ceremony took place in 1987, with the urban category established more recently, in 2004.

Rosen says the category has evolved in that time.

"Clearly with the emergence of Aussie hip hop in the last few years there's no doubt the scope of what falls under urban has definitely skewed towards hip hop," he said.

"Whereas in the past there was more of an R'n'B feel."

At the ARIA awards nomination event in Sydney in October, urban nominee Seth Sentry expressed dismay at the categorisation.

"I think they need to ditch the name urban. I think it's time for an update - I don't even know what the f*** that means, urban," he said.

Bryant-Smith says he's also concerned about the classification's racial undertones.

"Chucking in all those kinds of music in together, in a pretty lazy way lumping them together because they're music that have come out of black music traditions," he said.

Rosen acknowledges the category does have its roots in American music.

"But it's something that Australia's making their own," he said.

"So that's why you want to continually make sure we're speaking to our members and speaking to the community so that we can reflect what really is going on."

The ARIA awards are judged by an academy of 800 members of the Australian music industry.

Electronica artist Flume and rock group Tame Impala are both considered strong contenders for the coveted Album of the Year award, alongside industry stalwarts Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

Fourteen time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys will be performing at the ceremony, as well as the chart-topping New Zealand newcomer Lorde.